Hollyoaks cast Coronation Street’s Jon-Paul Bell as shock newcomer to the show – and it’s his THIRD soap role

CORONATION Street star Jon-Paul Bell is crossing the soap divide and joining the cast of Hollyoaks.

The actor, 29, who played dodgy lawyer Ben Chancellor, will appear in the Channel 4 drama as Beau.

He said the character was going to put a rocket under some of the villagers when he joins next month.

Jon-Paul explained: "Working on Hollyoaks has been an incredible experience and I'm so honoured to be a part of the passionate, creative, hard-working team here.

“I can't wait for viewers to meet Beau and follow him on his exciting new journey into the village where he is sure to cause a stir for various well-known characters along the way”.

Jon-Paul is returning to soap after appearing in Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks' TV series Masters of the Air.

The drama, the latest spin-off from the Band Of Brothers war series, will air on Apple TV+ next year.

However, he is more than familiar with appearing in serial dramas with Hollyoaks only his latest foray into soapland.

As well as appearing on Coronation Street, he has previously played Austin Ascot in Emmerdale.

The actor also starred as both Liam Bright and PC Tony Milne in BBC daytime soap Doctors.

He joined Coronation Street as Ben earlier this year as an associate of Charlie De Melo's character Imran Hebeeb.

With Imran determined to get full custody of baby Alfie, he was willing to play dirty by hiring Ben, who alters evidence to help clients get the results they want.

Jon-Paul trained at the ArtsEd school in London, he was cast as Luke Mauro in the BAFTA-nominated Kajaki The True Story, about British soldiers in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.